U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee - Larry E. Craig, Chairman - Jade West, Staff Director
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October 12, 1999

Even the Liberal Press Admits Gore & Bradley Are Over-Spending

Hey, Big Spenders!

Whether it's the party, the people, or the place, there just seems to be something about being or becoming a Democrat president that brings out that insatiable urge to spend the taxpayers' dollars. Even the liberal Washington Post recognizes that fact:

"Vice President Gore and Democratic rival Bill Bradley have already made campaign promises that would spend every penny of the available federal budget surplus for the next 10 years, and possibly more, calculations show. . . .

" Far more than the Republicans in the race, the two Democrats have proposed ambitious spending initiatives. . ." [Washington Post, 10/9/99]

The Post credits Bradley and Gore with spending $1.1 trillion and $1.25 trillion, respectively. Considering the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is projecting a non-Social Security surplus of $1.0 trillion from 2000-2009, that puts both candidates down as spending from $100 billion to $250 billion of the Social Security surplus.

  • Bradley's Health Care Plan Eats $1.1 Trillion: His "ambitious universal health care proposal -- estimated by his campaign to cost $65 billion annually -- would likely eat up more than $800 billion, and analysts say his estimates for providing prescription drugs are unrealistically low. . . . More realistic drug costs, inflation and other factors would drive the total cost to almost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. . ."

  • Gore Grab Bag Adds to $1.25 Trillion: "While Gore's health plan would cost much less, the major proposals he has made as a candidate or endorsed as vice president -- tax cuts, universal preschool and extra spending for defense, education and other programs -- could amount as much as $1.25 trillion over the next 10 years, according to CBO estimates and calculations by other analysts."

And CBO has already estimated President Clinton's latest budget increases spending by $1.032 trillion -- that's $937 billion from the surplus and $95 billion from new taxes. All this proves Congressional Republicans are not only more responsible -- returning $792 billion to overtaxed Americans and not touching Social Security -- but they are right. If the money isn't returned to the taxpayers and a Democrat is in the White House, the money will be spent.

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